• Just wishing…

    June 25, 2013 / 14 Comments

    Everywhere I go these days, I see puppies and dogs that I would like to have.  I am a bonafide dog lover!  I especially like larger dogs, although I do love Bernie.

    I’m not really and truly a “cat person”, but I’ve even begun to long for a Ragdoll kitten – from everything I’ve read, they’re practically a puppy!  Evidently, they are easily trained to stay off of countertops.  I want one just like the kitten on the left above with white socks!

    And while I’m dreaming about all the pets that I cannot have in my current condo situation, I would also love to have a cockatiel.  I figure we could grow old together.

    Ahhh, but this little girl below is who I really and truly would like to find in my Christmas stocking this year! 

    Just look at that sweet face.

    I would name her Emma…

    I’ve written several posts over the past few years about my longing for a dog. 

    The post below is just one of them…

    A good thing I’m honest…

    Published April 17, 2010 in My Southern Heart

     

    It has been an absolutely beautiful day today…complete with sunshine, an incredible blue sky and puffy cotton clouds.  I put my Susan Boyle CD into the player and drove the twenty-five scenic minutes into town to return some videos.  I realize the word “crowd” is relative, but as small towns go, the town was crowded.  It appeared everyone else in town had come up with some excuse or other to be out and about in the sunshine.  Since we all live with five months of rain each year, the sun should signal “go” for each of us here in this small town an hour or so from the Pacific Ocean.

    On my way back home, I stopped at the Melrose Country Store to pick up some ice cream to go with the 2 oatmeal raisin cookies and 2 chocolate chip cookies I had rationed us when I picked up Subway subs for us a few minutes earlier.  Hmmm…what is wrong with that picture?  No, don’t tell me.  As I was leaving the Melrose Country Store, two young men held the door open for me.  I smiled and said thanks and started walking to my car.

    There he was.  Big, beautiful and yellow.  He was sitting all by himself in the front seat of a red Dodge Ram dual-cab truck in the parking lot of the country store.  He had the perfect block head and I was guessing because of his size and his head that this amazing creature was male.   He looked big and powerful…and, yet, I knew he was probably a gentle bear.  A gentle, labrador retriever bear.  I stopped walking and smiled at him.  He smiled back.  I’m serious.  He was standing in the seat and wagging his tail by then.  We talked for a few minutes.  I told him that I wished he could go home with me.  He thought that was a wonderful idea.  He looked at the door handle as if to say, “well, what are you waiting for?”


    All I can say is it’s a good thing I’m honest…

     

    p.s.  Obviously, these aren’t my precious pets (yet) so all pics are courtesy of the internet.

  • Minnie Pearl…

    June 24, 2013 / 3 Comments

    I was at my daughter’s house the other day, when my nine-year-old granddaughter laughed aloud and reached for the waist of my bermuda shorts.

    “Grandmom!  You have something hanging from your shorts,”  she said in the midst of the laughter.

    I reached back to the waist of my fairly new shorts to find a tiny-well-washed-ziplock-bag which probably at one time held buttons!  Then came the realization that I had worn these shorts everywhere:  on a flight to Florida, Disneyworld, Anna Maria Island, the grocery store, the mall!  I tried to comfort myself with the fact I have yet to see anyone I know!  😉  That’s probably because I basically don’t know anyone (besides family) here.

    When in the world did I turn into Minnie Pearl?!  Remember her?  She was one of my parents’ all-time-favorite comediennes.  Her trademark was a hat with the tag hanging down.  No doubt there’s a lot of laughter in Heaven now with Sarah Cannon (Minnie Pearl) around!

    To be honest though, all I could think at the time was:  GOOD GRIEF!  I need a keeper!!!

     

     

     

  • A rainy Sunday…

    June 24, 2013 / 2 Comments

    On Sunday morning, I awoke to the sound of pouring rain with thunder and lightning accompanying it…and the realization that my umbrella was in my car.  Of course, my car is across the tarmac and in my garage.  Thankfully, before it was time to leave for church,  the rain turned into a drizzle.  After living in Oregon for 5 years, I could handle a drizzle.

    My daughter and her husband volunteer once a month in my four year old grandson’s class during the worship service.  (In the photo below, he’s sitting next to the little boy in the blue shirt.  You can barely see the edge of his face).  So, yesterday, I decided to try the worship service for the “older folks” who enjoy more of a traditional venue in music.  My daughter quipped that I would be the “youngest” person in there.  I wasn’t.  I was surprised to find that they were serving a wide array of breakfast choices.  I tried a couple of them – which were delicious.  I enjoyed the music but was disappointed to see that instead of a “worship team” there was one young woman leading the singing (at a much slower tempo than the songs called for).  I wasn’t sure if she thought the “old folks” couldn’t keep up or if she had not grown up singing the hymns.  I told my daughter that they didn’t sing my “favorite” hymns…she laughed and replied that it isn’t a “request line”!  She’s so funny.

    In the end, I decided that I missed the energy of the contemporary service.  In a perfect world, they would include my favorite hymns from time to time along with the contemporary music:  Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing, Amazing Grace, Be Thou My Vision – to name a few.  But I do enjoy the upbeat, vibrant music in the contemporary service as well.  I confess the hymns make me homesick…homesick for an earlier time and place.

    The day ended up being a sunny Sunday.  Any Sunday which starts with worship is wonderful…

    Below:  my daughter and her husband teaching small group during the worship service.

    The “Traditions” service is held in the Chapel.  I think the stained glass windows there are beautiful.

     

     

    I love to sew and each of my granddaughters was wearing something that I had made yesterday…

    My oldest granddaughter is wearing a top and skirt made from a Simplicity pattern:  #9001.  The fabric is wonderful – a soft, high-quality twill.  The top has covered buttons.  She likes it!  I love the fact that, unlike her Grandmom, she has broad beautiful shoulders!  I think swimming in competition contributes to that.

     

     

    I also made this dress which my nine year old granddaughter is wearing when I was living in Oregon!  I purchased the fabric at a wonderful quilt store there.  She loves the pattern, so I need to remember which one I used!  I have six (soon to be seven) granddaughters, so I need to sew a lot!

  • Thirty-three years ago…

    June 21, 2013 / 6 Comments

    It was the first day of summer 1980, the day before Father’s Day.  That year, my husband received a very special Father’s Day present:  a beautiful baby boy.  Even then, you could see that his hair was a wonderful strawberry blonde and his eyes were green like his Dad’s.  I remember immediately after he was born, he gave a healthy cry and then he was quiet, remarkably alert for a newborn.  Held in my arms, he was busy looking at his dad and me…as if to say, “well, there you are at last”.

    He grew up to be a fine young man who has always brought joy and laughter to everyone…and he still does.  Happily married and the father of a beautiful baby daughter (soon to be two beautiful baby daughters in August!), he is successful and loves what he does – executive producer of a television show.  I’m proud of the husband and father he is.  I’m proud of who he became.  I know his late dad is also…

    Happy Birthday, Son.  I love you!

    (I’ve written about my son and his precious family in several other posts – here is one.)

     

    Above:  Fans at a Chicago Bulls game in Dallas…

    Below:  Enjoy the pics from the early years…just use the right arrow to scroll forward.

    WordPress plugin

  • Thirteen years ago…

    June 18, 2013 / 6 Comments

    Thirteen years ago today, my firstborn’s firstborn arrived…a beautiful baby girl.  Early on, they had shared with us that the ultrasound had revealed she was a girl but kept her name a secret for nine long months!  When my son called to tell us the happy news, we were beyond excited.  After informing us that mom and daughter were both healthy and doing great, as well as the vital statistics, my son then quipped:  “Mom, don’t you want to know her name?!”  Finally!  Of course I did!

    As I’ve watched her growing up, I’ve been amazed to see so many of the talents that, apparently, each of us grandparents had passed down to her parents…and to her.  This sweet girl loves writing and art – two of my gifts and passions.  She is also athletic – that would have come from her parents, her paternal granddad and maybe her maternal grandparents!

    She plays the violin beautifully and is in the youth symphony in the city where they live.  She loves music and has a lovely voice.  She spent almost 7 years of her life living in Peru where her dad was a missionary doctor, and she has been bi-lingual for much of her life.  At this point in her life, she wants to be a pediatrician when she grows up – like her dad.

    I’m glad they are now back in the states but just wish they didn’t live eleven long hours from me!  I would love to see all the milestones for myself!

    Happy Birthday, sweet girl!  I love you…

     

    The early years…

     

    Above:  With Granddad, her late paternal grandfather, at the Memphis zoo…

    Below:  Thanksgiving 2012…

     

     

     

  • Anna Maria Island…

    June 14, 2013 / 9 Comments

    After a wonderful fun-filled-four-days visiting all four theme parks at Disneyworld, we headed to Anna Maria Island, Florida, for another four days of sun, sand and relaxation.  It had been more years than I could remember since I had seen the beautiful Southern waters of the Gulf.  It brought back memories of our family’s vacations on the Outer Banks of North Carolina on the Atlantic side years ago.

    My daughter had found a very nice beach house for us right on a canal and complete with a private pool.  The house was decorated in the sunny and cool colors of the beach:  shades of blue, yellow, lavender and coral.  The white trim throughout the house accented the colors perfectly.  There were several abstract paintings throughout the house that we learned had been purchased in Brazil.  With speakers inside and outside for the pool, we also enjoyed the beach music selections provided by the owner.

    I shared a room with my four year old grandson with a twin bed for each of us.  He’s a perfect little roommate and I loved it when he said, “goodnight, Grandmommy”.  Although on a couple of nights, I was actually asleep before he was and he tiptoed in without waking me.  Perfect little gentleman.

    After a morning on the beach, we walked the 5 minutes back to the house and had lunch – after rinsing off in the outdoor shower.  Afterwards, we usually watched a video, played or read for a while during the hottest part of the day.  Then it was out to the pool where the fish my grandchildren loved practicing all their strokes and actually playing in the water.  The three older ones swim competitively and have a stack of blue ribbons to prove it.  Consequently, they have little time to actually “play” in the water.  I enjoyed being in the pool some with them, then reading my Karen White book which I’d brought along with me.

    I think my daughter had the perfect idea, scheduling the four relaxing days after the four busy ones.  Ten days passed all too quickly and we flew back to Iowa on Tuesday morning…with a bank of memories of a wonderful time together.